A Fall From Grace

I've read nearly all of Robert Barnard's books because of his acerbic (some would say cynical) wit and well-crafted plots. "A Fall From Grace" features, for the ninth time, Charlie Peace as its central character. Peace's unpleasant father-in-law has come to live near them in the same village. Barnard takes his time delving into the lives of the people in the village, building up a mystery both traditional and domestic. As usual, Barnard doesn't cater to an international audience, and some of the cultural allusions and vocabulary are British, which might puzzle some readers, but can safely be skipped over without harm to the plot line.

Charlie Peace and his wife, Felicity, move into Slepton Edge. Felicity's detested father, Rupert Coggenhoe, suddenly wants to move with them and after he gives them money for their new home they cannot refuse him. Rupert is a self-absorbed author, who manipulates and uses women to take care of him. Not long after the move, Rupert dies from a fall down a cliff. Was it murder, suicide or an accident? Charlie is warned off by the local DI, but investigates anyway.

This is the second Robert Barnard book that I have read. I was not impressed with the first book, and only slightly more impressed with this one. It was not bad...it just wasn't necessarily very good, either. The British murder mystery/detective story is my favorite genre, and show more Robert Barnard is said to be very good...I just haven't seen that yet.

The story itself did flow fairly well and I found it very original. It was a quick and easy read. I found the writing just a little rough. All the clues were there, and the reader could possibly have figured out the murderer (if there indeed was one.) Some of the clues seemed very awkwardly inserted into the story; there was no reason why someone ordinarily would have volunteered the information in the natural course of events.

I could not identify with any of the characters, and Charlie Peace had such an acerbic wit that I didn't find him enjoyable. He also was very disapproving and blunt with most of the new people that he met, especially about the actions of a person that he claimed to be his new closest friend.

Knowing that some of Barnard's books have won awards, I believe that I'll try one of those next. Otherwise, I wouldn't pick up one of these books again very readily unless I couldn't find another mystery to read. show less

Barnard wanders in this story as if making it up as he went along. The unpleasant characters add to the disagreeable aspect. Disappointing.

Father-in-law moves into the village. Unpleasant sort of fellow.